The MYSTERIES of MITHRAS the Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World Payam Nabarz, Ph.D
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The MYSTERIES of MITHRAS The Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World Payam Nabarz, Ph.D. Inner Traditions Rochester, Vermont Mighty Anahita with splendor will shine, Incarnated as a youthful divine. Full of charm her beauty she will display, Her hip with charming belt she will array. Straight-figured, she is as noble bride, Freeborn, herself in puckered dress will hide. Her cloak is all decorated with gold, With precious dress Anahita we shall behold. ORIGINAL POEM BASED ON KASHANI’S PERSIAN FOLK SONGS, FROM ANAVESTAN INVOCATION TO ANAHITA Like grapes, we have always accompanied the vat. From the view of the world, we have disappeared. For years, we boiled from the fire of love Until we became that wine which intoxicated the world. SUFI PIR AND POET DR. NURBAKHSH ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Alison Jones for reading this manuscript and her numerous helpful comments, discussions, and especially for her encouragement in the “last mile” of this journey. To John, Paul, Ivor, Moni, Ruth, Alex, Colin, Pascale, Tony, Mogg, and Sharron for stimulating conversations over the years. A special thanks to Mogg Morgan of the Oxford Golden Dawn Occult Society for his magical encouragement for my work with Mithras. To Caitlín Matthews for reading the manuscript and for her very helpful comments and especially for encouraging me to finish this book. To Guya Vichi and Lesley Harris and the other Priestesses and Priests of Mithras who are keeping the flame of Mithras alive. To all the members of the Mithras e-list who have discussed Mithraism with me, especially Parviz, Omid, Peter, Bradley, John, and Hannah. To Victoria and Laura for their very helpful editorial comments. To Sun and Moon Druid Grove of OBOD, and to Andrew and Gillian for the shamanic meetings and for helping me to open the gate to a place I had forgotten. To Tony and Mani for always being there in friendship. To Terry Graham for helpful discussions. To Dr. Nurbakhsh, and the late Mr. Niktab (may he rest in peace), for bestowing the light, and all the Sufis on the Path of Love. Dedicated to Ali “110.” CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FOREWORD BY CAITLÍN MATTHEWS CHAPTER 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MITHRAIC MYSTERIES The Persian Mithra The Roman Mithras The Revival of Mithras in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries CHAPTER 2: MITHRAIC ICONOGRAPHY Birth of the Roman Mithras Mithras the Hunter The Tauroctony Sol and Sol Invictus The Miracle of the Rock The Sacred Meal The Ascension Leontocephaline (Lion-Headed One) CHAPTER 3: THE SEVEN INITIATORY RITES OF MITHRAS The Rites Sufi Interpretation of the Seven Rites The Women’s Grade CHAPTER 4: ECHOES OF MITHRAISM AROUND THE WORLD The Echo of Mithraism in Christianity Mithras as Liberator Echoes of Mithraism in the Yezidis and the Peacock Angel Mithras in Britain CHAPTER 5: SIMORGH—A MITHRAIC FAIRY TALE Simorgh—An Old Persian Fairy Tale Symbolism of the Simorgh Tale CHAPTER 6: THE MITHRAIC LITURGY Preparation for Performing the Mithraic Liturgy The Ritual CHAPTER 7: THE GODDESS ANAHITA CHAPTER 8: MEDITATIONS AND INITIATIONS I. Corax Meditation and Initiation II. Nymphus Meditation and Initiation III. Miles Meditation and Initiation IV. Leo Meditation and Initiation V. Perses Meditation and Initiation VI. Heliodromus Meditation and Initiation VII. Pater Meditation and Initiation CHAPTER 9: THE FOUR STATIONS OF MITHRA Yule—Birth of the Sun Spring Equinox—Nou Roz Summer Solstice—Tir Autumn Equinox—Festival of Mithra EPILOGUE APPENDIX A: Zoroastrian Hymn to Mithra (Mehr Yasht 10) APPENDIX B: Zoroastrian Hymn to Anahita (Aban Yasht 5) INDEX MITHRAIC GROUPS AND INTERNET RESOURCES FOOTNOTES NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY FURTHER READING ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT INNER TRADITIONS COPYRIGHT FOREWORD As a child, my first introduction to Mithras was courtesy of the Romano-British novels of Rosemary Sutcliff, many of whose characters were Roman soldiers seconded to serve on Hadrian’s Wall. What seemed to give them the most strength and support was the spiritual brotherhood of their fellow initiates in the Mithraic mysteries. In those exciting novels, the severe commanders and young legionaries alike bore the initiatic mark of Mithras branded upon their brows. This was deeply impressive and left its own mysterious mark upon me. As a teenager, I longed to know more about Mithras and these rites, soon finding that sources were almost unobtainable but that I, as a woman, was probably not expected to find them anyway, for it seemed that Mithras was solely a god for men, just as the Roman Bona Dea was solely a goddess for women. It wasn’t until I was much older that I discovered and read what little there was and realized that Mithras had not left me alone after all. We have continued to encounter one another over the years, and so it was thus a great pleasure and not too much of a surprise to be asked to read a manuscript that gathered the Mithraic material into one book. What makes The Mysteries of Mithras so exciting is that not only has Payam Nabarz presented a clear background to the myth and cult of Mithras, but he has taken this book beyond a theoretical study. While you will find the Zoroastrian hymns to Mithra and his mother, Anahita, you will also find seven initiatory meditations and rituals that open the door to the seven Mithraic grades of Corax, Nymphus, Miles, Leo, Perses, Heliodromus, and Pater. Those who pass through these initiatory portals will be able to forge their own friendship with Mithras, whether they be male or female. The author reveals that Mithras and his mysteries have not gone away but are relevant to our own times. He locates Mithras authentically as a divine power whose pure love shatters to pieces the delusions of our age and yet still has the ability to bind us together in a much-needed code of honor, truth, and peace. The book’s power undoubtedly results from the fact that the author is himself Persian, giving the text a sense of continuity and purpose that doesn’t leave Mithras in an historical backwater but makes him available to us all. The strong simplicity and enlightening power of Mithras permeate these pages, bringing liberation to the darkest caverns of the human spirit. May you “see the doors open and the world of the gods which is within the doors, so that from the pleasure and joy of the sight your spirit runs ahead and ascends.” CAITLÍN MATTHEWS Chapter 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MITHRAIC MYSTERIES THE PERSIAN MITHRA Mithra—the Lord of vast green pastures—we do praise, To “First Celestial God” our voices raise. Before the sun shines from hilltops, indeed, The everlasting sun, Mithra will proceed. It is the first being with ornaments of gold, That from mountaintops the earth does behold. And from there, the powerful Mithra will Watch the abode of the Magi calm and still. BASED ON KASHANI’S PERSIAN FOLK SONGS, FROM AN AVESTAN INVOCATION TO MITHRA Mithra is an ancient Indo-Iranian god who was worshipped in polytheistic Persia at least as early as the second millenium B.C.E., and who was almost certainly related to the Vedic Mitra worshipped in India. The myths of this ancient god contain elements that link him with the mythologies of all the Indo-European peoples. A hymn is dedicated to him in the Rig Veda (3.59); in Hinduism, he is also praised as the binomial Mitra-Varuna. Mitra and Varuna maintain order and justice, as they embody the power that formed the warrior caste in ancient India. Mitra is the lord of heavenly light and the protector of truth, invoked whenever a contract or oath is taken. In Persia, Mithra was the protector god of many tribal societies for centuries, before Zarathushtra (commonly known in the West by his Greek name of Zoroaster) brought about the reformation of Persian polytheism. Zoroaster formed a new religion out of the old Persian form of worship. Over many more centuries, this religion, Zoroastrianism, slowly gained in popularity and finally became the state religion of the Persian Empire until the rise of Islam. Zoroaster is thought to have lived in northeastern Iran sometime in the sixth or fifth century B.C.E., though some scholars believe it could have been as early as 1200 B.C.E. Zoroaster is said to have had a miraculous birth: his mother, Dughdova, was a virgin who conceived him after being visited by a shaft of light. Zoroaster’s teachings led to the world’s first monotheistic religion, in which Ahura Mazda, the “Wise Lord” of the sky, was the ultimate creator. In this reformation Mithra, like the rest of the gods and goddesses of the Persian pantheon, was stripped of his sovereignty and powers and his attributes were bestowed upon Ahura Mazda. The Avesta is the Zoroastrian holy book. It is a collection of holy texts, which include the gathas, the songs and hymns of the prophet Zoroaster, and the yashts, the ancient liturgical poems and hymns that scholars believe predated Zoroaster and were modified to reflect the reformation. It also contains rituals, precepts for daily life, and rites of passage for birth, marriage, and death. Because of the Avesta, the Zoroastrians were the first of the “people of the book.” Avesta probably means “authoritative utterance.”1 Some of the yashts are hymns to ancient Persian deities, who in Zoroastrianism are demoted to the ranks of archangels or angels, with Ahura Mazda at the top of the hierarchy. In this new format, Ahura Mazda has seven immortal aspects—the Amshaspends or Amesha Spentas—each of whom rules over a particular realm.